Yesterday it was revealed that Hollywood had lost an amazing character actor in Phillip Seymour Hoffman. He was found dead in his apartment with a hypodermic needle stuck in his arm, a charred metal spoon at his side along with several bags of cocaine with playing card images printed on them. I've often wondered what leads an actor to this self destructive behavior. Depression, drug use, alcohol. What is the cause of this? Is the depression a result of a loss of identity. It may be the fame, the pressure, but I'm sure they're are actors who are not world famous that have these issues. I've often thought that the best actors are the ones who don't act at all. Acting without acting. When an actor like Marlin Brando portrays someone like Paul, in Last Tango In Paris, we are seeing Marlins' true emotions on screen.. This was my initial instinct when i began my first acting class. Somewhat contrary to what we are learning now, i thought that allowing myself to feel the emotions of my character would allow the actions i took to come naturally. But perhaps this burden becomes to much. I can only imagine the darkness Heath Ledger dove into, in order to give his farewell power house performance as the The Joker. But what came first? Was it the act of becoming this twisted individual that broke Ledger, or perhaps Ledgers state of mind is what allowed him to give the powerful performance. I'm sure like any other art form, acting allows the artists to express his or her emotional state as a means of catharsis. Yet for some that may not be enough.
This all got a bit dark and slightly off topic. The point of this post was to take a look at two of my favorite performances by Hoffman. I have yet to see Capote, but i will very soon.
Brandt: The Big Lebowski
This scene truly captures what made Hoffman such a great actor as well as what made Brandt such a memorable character. Even though he was only featured for a few minutes in the film. The nervous laughter, the condescending tone, are very subtle choices that come together that effectively define Hoffman's character, not by any sort of exposition but by strong acting. After this meeting Brandt begins to show respect for both Lebowski's in his life. Respectfully referring to Jeffery as "The Dude" throughout the film.
Caden Coutard: Synecdoche, New York
This scene truly captures what made Hoffman such a great actor as well as what made Brandt such a memorable character. Even though he was only featured for a few minutes in the film. The nervous laughter, the condescending tone, are very subtle choices that come together that effectively define Hoffman's character, not by any sort of exposition but by strong acting. After this meeting Brandt begins to show respect for both Lebowski's in his life. Respectfully referring to Jeffery as "The Dude" throughout the film.
Caden Coutard: Synecdoche, New York
If you haven't seen Synecdoche New York then please don't watch this clip. I chose this because Hoffman delivers a beautiful line, which is cut off near the end, that has stuck with me since I watched this film. "There are nearly thirteen million people in the world. None of those people is an extra. They're all the leads of their own stories. They have to be given their due." I can say that this one line truly changed my outlook on life, and humanity in general. It's a line that carries so much weight and Hoffman delivers it well, feeling the meaning of the words in his voice. Cadens' revelation would become the basis of his work. A complete and fully populated recreation of New York City, even having an actor portray himself trying to complete the play.
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"I will be dying and so will you, and so will everyone here. That's what I want to explore. We're all hurtling towards death, yet here we are for the moment, alive. Each of us knowing we're going to die, each of us secretly believing we won't."
Phillip Seymour Hoffman July 1967-February 2014
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"I will be dying and so will you, and so will everyone here. That's what I want to explore. We're all hurtling towards death, yet here we are for the moment, alive. Each of us knowing we're going to die, each of us secretly believing we won't."
Phillip Seymour Hoffman July 1967-February 2014
It was a dark day to be sure. It is odd to me that so many actors turn to drugs and alcohol. I tend to think that the thing that makes people crave the attention of being on stage may be the same thing that leads people to crave drugs--- serotonin. It feels good to be loved, and it feels good to be high, I guess.
ReplyDeleteI think the question about to feel or not to feel is tough. I personally believe that if you actually feel what your character does on stage, then you may find yourself too out of control of your emotions to remember your lines. You AREN'T the character after all, you are you, pretending to be someone else.
Also if you rely on emotion, what happens when it doesn't come? Sometimes you may feel too happy to be sad or too sad to be happy. What then? That's why I encourage actors to work on physicalizing rather than feeling.